Interlude - April 1
April 1, 2021
Musicals of America, toddler music class, 1930s radio star and more
My goodness, something terrible has happened – April Fools! It’s just us with a fresh basket of arts and entertainment options for your enjoyment.
A quick note in case you missed it: Our season's first Center Presents concert goes on sale tomorrow. Michael Feinstein and Melissa Manchester will perform for in-person and online audiences on May 15. We'll chat more about it next Interlude, but wanted to make sure you heard in time.
What do our musicals say about us?
American musical theater is a rich landscape where we can explore our national and personal identities. For the Center’s next Performing Arts Connect event on Tuesday, April 20, we will Zoom to the Manhattan School of Music for an interactive presentation titled From Hamilton to West Side Story: Identifying Our American Experience through Song.
In addition to discussing themes in classic Broadway musicals, an MSM Orto Center teaching artist will perform and lead the participants in composing their own historical rap lyric. Learn more and get your ticket now!
New toddler music class starts April 15
Musician/educator Michelle Marti is back with another round of the Thursday morning Child & Adult Music Class for preschoolers and their grownups.
The appropriately springy theme for the April 15-May 13 Zoom sessions is All Around the Garden, featuring songs and stories about flowers, rainbows, buzzing bees and birds nesting in the treetops. Learn more about the class and register here.
Songbook Collections Highlight: Niela Goodelle
Our friends at the Great American Songbook Foundation are debuting a brand new Collections Highlight from the Songbook Archives about the life of 1930s radio star and Ziegfeld Follies girl Niela Goodelle.
Goodelle's career was documented in tabloids, magazines, newspapers and on radio programs like the Rudy Vallée Variety Show. As you explore Niela Goodelle’s Collections Highlight, you’ll read excerpts from journalists who interviewed Niela, wrote about her alleged romance with Rudy Vallée, and speculated about her career. You are invited to offer your own informed opinion about the truth behind the words.
The digital exhibit features news clippings, photos, lacquer discs, 78 rpm recordings, contracts and telegrams belonging to the 1930s actress and singer.
This week in performing arts history
The Indiana Wind Symphony performs at the Palladium.
April 1: On this date in 1873, composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was a leading piano virtuoso of his time and one of the last great figures of music’s late Romantic era, especially known for piano concerti and his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra. His works have been performed multiple times at the Center by the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles.
April 2: On this date in 1947, singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She is known not just for her solo work but for her many collaborations with such artists as Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Gram Parsons, Roy Orbison, Mark Knopfler and Willie Nelson. Among other honors, she is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and has taken home 14 Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. She performed at the Palladium in July 2011.
April 3: National Film Score Day reminds us of some Center performances by our resident Indiana Wind Symphony (pictured above), such as Hollywood Classics in September 2013, The Wondrous World of John Williams in October 2017 and John Williams Fantasia in March 2020.
